Curveball interview questions are often used by hiring managers to assess how candidates respond when caught off guard and to see a different side of their personality. While there’s no right or wrong answer to curveball interview questions, there are ways you can prepare yourself to answer in the best way possible.
- If you were an animal, what would you be?
- Every CV has one lie in it. What’s yours?
- Would you rather be liked or feared?
- Where does your boss think you are now?
- Sell me this pen…
- Need more curveball questions?
Curveball interview questions and how to answer them
2. Consider why the interviewer asked
Before answering an uncommon interview question, consider why the hiring manager chose that question. They may want to learn more about who you are and your critical thinking abilities. The hiring manager may want to assess your articulation or evaluate your integrity and honesty. Its important to consider the purpose behind the question and ensure you include your explanation in your answer. For example, if the hiring manager asks for a single word that best describes you, avoid words like tall or blonde, as they dont help you express your aptitude for the position.
7 Tips for Handling Curveball Interview Questions
One of the reasons hiring managers ask strange interview questions is to throw you off your game a bit—to see how you perform under pressure and get a better sense of your thought process. So, no matter how nervous the question makes you or how surprised you are to hear it, try your best to keep your cool.
It’s OK to take a moment and think about your answer. Hiring managers know that they’re throwing you a curveball question, and they won’t expect you to have the perfect answer off the bat. Take a few seconds to think over your response. Saying something like, “That’s a fun question! Let me think about it for a minute” will buy you some time.
curveball interview questions
But if brain teasers don’t predict performance, there’s still a good reason to throw some curveball questions at your candidates every once in a while. A candidate’s answer to an extraordinary question can reveal a lot about their personality, their values, and how they might handle pressure. While this information may not be related to performance, it can help employers make decisions about cultural fit and team dynamics – two very important aspects of any good hire.
Google used to be famous for its brain-teaser interview questions, like “How many cars travel across a bridge each day?” For a long time, many of us in the recruiting world got a kick out of these questions – and some employers even tried to emulate Google’s approach.
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